3:36 PM,
Sep. 19, 2013

NJ unemployment: Nearly 500 job hunters attended the fifth annual Parsippany Area Chamber of Commerce Job Fair held in May in Parsippany.

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| Staff report

New Jersey's unemployment rate fell from 8.6 percent to 8.5 percent in August, but the state lost 1,500 jobs, led by a big drop in professional and business services, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said.

The unemployment rate is now at its lowest level since March 2009, the department reported. But the unemployment rate fell even as the state lost jobs because a greater number of workers - more than 12,000 from July to August - gave up looking for work and left the labor force.

In the past 12 months, the state has gained 60,300 jobs, the department reported. ...